Class 14

With little more than a week to go here, you might wonder where to go next for group training. You’re lucky to live in Eugene, where these opportunities abound. The stores Eugene Running Company (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday), Run Hub (Wednesday) and Nike Running (also Wednesday) offer free runs each week – as does a speed-training group called The Flyers (Thursday).

Friday’s run here will be our second (and last) session of interval training. The distance will still add up to one or two miles, but the segments will be shorter – 4 x quarter-mile or 4 x half-mile. We'll be back at our spot on the turf fields.

TODAY’S EASY HALF-HOUR

(no exact times, distances or paces recorded; target was to recover from Wednesday’s run and refresh for Friday’s; participants listed here)

Megan

Brianna

Asilia

Vadim

Becky

Jie

Guangyu

LESSON 14: LOOKING GOOD

Running form is as individual as a fingerprint and is too inborn to change very much. But you can become a more efficient runner with practice and minor modifications in form. Run upright, not with a pronounced forward lean. Look toward the horizon, not at your feet. Run faster by increasing your stride turnover, not by overreaching with each stride. Uphill running: Shorten and lower the stride, and drive more with the arms while keeping the effort relatively constant instead of trying to hold a steady pace. Downhill running: Let gravity work for you by leaning slightly forward, and bend more than usual at the knees to cushion shock.